The head of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.‘s 900-person Denver office has been promoted to executive vice-president of Anadarko’s international and deepwater operations and will join the company’s executive committee.

Kleckner will be replaced in Denver by Brad Holly, Anadarko’s vice president of operations for its southern and Appalachia region who is currently based at Anadarko’s home office in The Woodlands near Houston.

John Christiansen, Anadarko spokesman, said Kleckner will move to The Woodlands and Holly will move to Denver.

“Jim’s promotion to executive vice president, international and deepwater operations, is a reflection of his global operation skills, as well as the tremendous success delivered by Anadarko’s Rocky Mountain region, under his leadership,” said Al Walker, president and CEO of Anadarko.

Walker said Kleckner brings more than 30 years of experience to his new position, having served in exploration and production leadership positions in the North Sea, South America, China, the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. onshore.

Walker said that Kleckner most recently played “an instrumental role in the phenomenal growth of the Wattenberg field in Colorado and the Greater Natural Buttes area in Utah, two of Anadarko’s largest U.S. onshore assets.

Kleckner began his career in the oil and natural gas industry in 1981 with Sun Oil Co. He is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines with a degree in petroleum engineering.